1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sunshade for a vehicle sunroof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a sunshade for a vehicle sunroof is retractably mounted on guide rails provided at both sides of an opening formed in a vehicle body (the ceiling of a vehicle). It can be manually opened/closed, having a handle at a portion exposed inside the vehicle when the shade is opened. For example, the sunshade for a vehicle sunroof disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 9-71135 is composed of a core material which is substantially flat-plate shaped and formed from a material with high-strength (metal) such as aluminum, and a skin material that covers the core material. It is provided with a sunshade body having a handle formed to expand upward and 4 shoes in two pairs mounted on both sides of the sunshade body. It can be retractably (slidably) mounted on the guide rails by the shoes.
The sunshade body of the aforementioned sunshade has a structure in which the skin material is adhered to the core material to be covered therewith. In addition, in order to prevent the terminal portions of the skin material from peeling off and to improve the appearance, they are rolled into the back of the core material (the surface which cannot be directly viewed by occupants of the vehicle). Therefore, the productivity of the sunshade body is low, requiring improvement.
Furthermore, the core material of the sunshade body of the aforementioned sunshade is formed from the light and highly rigid material such as aluminum (other materials may be used, however, they are expensive). As the core material is provided for the entirety of the sunshade body, a large amount of the material is required. It is difficult to reduce the weight and cost of the sunshade.
The invention is conceived in view of the aforementioned circumstances. Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a sunshade for a vehicle sunroof, allowing for improved productivity, and reduced cost of the sunshade.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, the sunshade for a vehicle sunroof is provided with a base member which advances and retreats on guide rails provided along both sides of an opening formed in the vehicle body to open and close the opening so as to shield sunlight from striking inside the vehicle through the opening when the sunshade is closed, and is housed within a housing space formed adjacent to the opening when the sunshade is opened; and an edge member which is integrally mounted on the advancing-side end portion of the base member, and has a cover portion for covering the inside of the vehicle of the advancing-side terminal portion of the base member.
According to the above-identified aspect, an edge member having a handle is provided with a shielding portion that shields the advancing-side terminal portion of the base member from the view of the vehicle occupant. This may eliminate the machining step for the terminal portion at the advancing-side of the base member for improved appearance, resulting in improved productivity and the reduced cost of the sunshade.
In this case, it is preferable that ventilation openings be integrally formed with the edge member, or the base member is formed into a substantially flat plate, the edge member is formed into a convex shape projecting further than the base member toward the inside of the vehicle such that the handle and ventilation openings are housed within the convex portion.
According to the aspect of the invention, in the case where ventilation openings are integrally provided on the edge member, the sunshade can be constructed at a low cost without demanding the ventilation openings separately. Furthermore, according to this aspect, in the case where the base member is formed into a substantially flat plate, the edge member is formed into a convex shape projecting further than the base member toward the inside of the vehicle, and the handle and ventilation openings are housed within the convex portion, the rigidity of the edge member at the sunshade can be secured by effectively utilizing the space inside the vehicle defined by the guide rails, the ceiling interior member which is disposed at the lower side of the frame that supports the guide rails and expands toward the inside of the vehicle, and a trimming member attached to the opening circumferential edge of the ceiling interior member. The compact arrangement of the handle and ventilation openings may further suppress increase in the thickness.
In addition, it is preferable that the edge member be formed of a material with high-strength. In this case, it is further preferable that the engagement portions engaged with closing-direction stoppers on the frame that supports the guide rails be integrally formed with the edge member, or the edge member is extended to the guide rails so as to integrally provide shoes with the extended portions to slidably engage with the guide rails. Furthermore, it is preferable to use a resin with high-strength as the high-strength material constituting the edge member.
According to the aspect of the invention, in the case where the edge member having the handle is formed of the material with high-strength, the base member can be formed of the material with low-strength which is lightweight and inexpensive. Therefore, this makes it possible to achieve reduction in the weight and cost of the sunshade. When engagement portions that engage with the closing-direction stoppers on the frame that supports the guide rails are integrally provided with the edge member, the closing-direction stopper can be simply structured at a low cost, taking advantage of the edge member formed of the high-strength material.
When the edge member is extended to the guide rails slidably engaged with shoes which are integrally provided on the extended portions, the shoes can be simply structured at a low cost, taking advantage of characteristics of the edge member formed of the material with high strength.
Furthermore, when the high-strength material constituting the edge member is formed of a resin with high-strength, it is needless to say that the edge member be excellent in productivity and manufacturable at a low cost. In addition, the engagement portions that engage with the closing-direction stoppers and shoes that slidably engage with the guide rails can be integrally formed on the edge member during molding thereof, thus reducing the number of parts.